If this is your first visit, be sure to
check out the FAQ by clicking the
link above. You may have to register
before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages,
select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

Eastmans' "Big Man Challenge!"

Let’s be honest here, every one of us has a very busy schedule. At Eastmans’ we are as busy as the next guy, maybe even busier than the next guy at some points of the year! All of us want to be in shape for hunting season but it is tough to find the time. We don’t have three or six hours a day to spend at the gym and we aren’t willing to sacrifice time with our families to win the “fittest man on the mountain” award.

However, we see the value in taking care of ourselves. It makes a difference in the quality of life that we live and can make a difference on our hunts. It also makes a difference in how long we will be around to take care of our families.

Which leads us to the Eastmans’ “Big Man Challenge.” This spring and summer four of us from the Eastmans’ staff are going to work together to get in shape and then, stay in shape. We will be starting on Thursday with a weigh-in and then follow a training schedule set up by Rinda Eastman, Guy’s wife. She is a certified trainer who teaches exercise courses on a regular basis.

Physical training always goes better when training for a goal and you have friends to push you along the way. Our goal is to compete in a 5k at the end of July, or the beginning of August. Some of our race options haven’t hit the net yet.

Ike Eastman, Brandon Mason, Dan Turvey, Jr. and myself will all be letting you follow along as we document our progress over the spring and summer. We are all big guys, every one of us over six feet tall. We will each have our own challenges to work through as we get in shape. Ike is the only one who is working out on a regular basis. It has been about eight months for me, Brandon is coming off of hip surgery with four little ones at home and Dan has 10 years of a sedentary lifestyle and two little ones at home that demand his free time.

If you feel like posting about your workouts feel free. Remember, none of us are trying to run a marathon, or win a power lifting competition. This is all about getting in shape for hunting and staying there! Welcome to the “Big Man Challenge!”

Hey guys, this is Brandon Mason here at Eastmans'. Following up on Scott's post above I thought I'd give you a quick run-down on where I'm at with this and where I hope to be. As Scott mentioned, none of us are Iron Men. This is to do a simple routine that will get us in better shape and make it be something we can do each day in our busy lives. As noted, I had hip surgery recently. In fact, this month will be two years since the arthroscopy. I've had moments of feeling like I'm back to 100% and others where I feel like I'm not even close...a constant roller coaster ride.

My ideal "fighting" weight is around 205 lbs. Right now I'm hovering just below 220 lbs. Which sucks for me! With the bulk of my job keeping me tied to a desk since I'm the advertising manager here at Eastmans', it is too easy to get in the rut of eating junk food and being inactive. Well, that's about to change and I'm excited to see how well this little program trims me up. Come August the mountains should look maybe a little smaller and fatigue will be diminished if all goes well.

You don't have to be a super athlete to hunt hard, but getting in decent shape for your body type should help the fall experiences be much more enjoyable and maybe even more successful from a harvest standpoint.

We just did this at my. Co. Myself and 3 others did a two month challenge for the highest weight loss percentage. We put in $100 each and for me my Vaca to Hawaii with the family was my motivation.

During this I also realized that I'm 42 and how much my family and business relies on me. So I chose to make this a lifestyle change not just a two month challenge.

Here's my biggest issue with my weight.

I have 300 customers and they are all restaurants. We do not ever pay for food at most of them. You see my dilemma? Sure there are good choices but who wants that?

Also my worst time to eat crap is at night when I get home and want to relax and watch some hunting shows. While I'm sitting there I want to snack before bed. Sooooo bad.

These things I feel if I can keep out of my routine I can loose weight and keep it off.

I think I can relate to the challenge in this way. I will never commit myself to a running race or running at all. I've had knee surgery that has made my knee painfull enough that the content pounding on it while running just isn't gonna happen for me. I prefer to hike, ride my Mt bike and walk.

I'm down 17lbs and weigh less then I have in awhile. I would really like to continue with that loss till I get to about 200lbs.

So in my long drawn out post here I would really like to see and hear about you guys and your progression in the challenge.

All right guys, here we go. I am not going to make excuses as to how I got to the physical level I am at, as I know where I went wrong over the last 13 years. I am going to explain a little bit about who I am, where I am at physically and what I plan to do to get back into hunting shape. Note I said hunting shape. I am not looking to run marathons, bench press 400 pounds or do long treks with a 100-pound pack. No doubt there are guys out there that can do that and I applaud their efforts. For me, it’s about getting more enjoyment from what I love most and second to family, it’s western big game hunting.

In a former life, I was a dedicated baseball player with Big10 aspirations that nearly came to pass until I had my left shoulder completely reconstructed my senior year of high school. The recruiters vanished as quickly as they came and I was headed into college with or without a scholarship. That said I was also in my peak physical prime. Competitive weight lifting, running five-minute miles for seven miles, benching 400 pounds and having a 4.5 second forty at 6’1”, 265 pounds was my baseline – oh to be 19 again. The reason I am sharing this with you is because it serves as my fuel. I want to get as close to that again as I can at age 31. I’ll admit, knowing where I was and where I am at now, is depressing but find what fuels you and use it!

Fast-forward 13 years of a sedentary “eastern” lifestyle where my farthest walk was to my treestand 100 yards from the truck, getting married, having two kids that require all my free time, holding a desk job for the last eight years and it’s easy to see why my numbers are the way they are now. Pile onto to that severe shin splints from years of running and a stress fractured lower back from an old injury – well you get the picture.

I have a feeling there are a lot of guys out there like me, so if you’re in my camp, take this opportunity to get into hunting shape with me. As hunters we already share a common bond so let’s encourage and push each other to accomplish our fitness/hunting goals. Find the drive, no excuses – just results.

After this mornings weigh-in with Rinda Eastman (Guy’s wife who is also a professional trainer) here’s my current baseline:

I’ll admit, her process is new to me but I am going to break down some of the key areas I am going to focus on during the challenge.

As would be guessed, weight is the first thing though surprisingly not the most important. During this challenge I am going to try and cut as much weight as possible and I have a feeling that will be a byproduct of working out and diet change but my starting goal is to drop 33 pounds, taking me to 270 pounds.

Second is body fat percentage. This is the percent of your total make-up that’s fat. For my age range, the upper end of the healthy range is 20%. I don’t want to set unrealistic goals so that’s where I am going to set my goal; drop my percent body fat by at least 18.4%.

Third is body water percent, which is the water content of your body. I am sitting at 45.7% and the healthy range for men is 50-65%. My goal here is to hydrate more often and get to 50% or more (there’s a word you don’t read often in a fitness challenge).

Fourth is visceral fat. This is the fat that exists in your abdomen, surrounds your internal organs and is the most detrimental to your health. High-blood pressure, heart disease and diabetes are some of the diseases that have been linked to excess amounts of visceral fat. The healthy range for this type of fat is 1-12 and excess levels are considered 13-59, I am at 19. My goal here is to drop my visceral fat rating 7 points to at least 12.

Now for the current workout plan and diet challenge. It’s nothing crazy but will serve you well in the long run.

All right guys, here we go. I am not going to make excuses as to how I got to the physical level I am at, as I know where I went wrong over the last 13 years. I am going to explain a little bit about who I am, where I am at physically and what I plan to do to get back into hunting shape. Note I said hunting shape. I am not looking to run marathons, bench press 400 pounds or do long treks with a 100-pound pack. No doubt there are guys out there that can do that and I applaud their efforts. For me, itís about getting more enjoyment from what I love most and second to family, itís western big game hunting.

In a former life, I was a dedicated baseball player with Big10 aspirations that nearly came to pass until I had my left shoulder completely reconstructed my senior year of high school. The recruiters vanished as quickly as they came and I was headed into college with or without a scholarship. That said I was also in my peak physical prime. Competitive weight lifting, running five-minute miles for seven miles, benching 400 pounds and having a 4.5 second forty at 6í1Ē, 265 pounds was my baseline Ė oh to be 19 again. The reason I am sharing this with you is because it serves as my fuel. I want to get as close to that again as I can at age 31. Iíll admit, knowing where I was and where I am at now, is depressing but find what fuels you and use it!

Fast-forward 13 years of a sedentary ďeasternĒ lifestyle where my farthest walk was to my treestand 100 yards from the truck, getting married, having two kids that require all my free time, holding a desk job for the last eight years and itís easy to see why my numbers are the way they are now. Pile onto to that severe shin splints from years of running and a stress fractured lower back from an old injury Ė well you get the picture.

I have a feeling there are a lot of guys out there like me, so if youíre in my camp, take this opportunity to get into hunting shape with me. As hunters we already share a common bond so letís encourage and push each other to accomplish our fitness/hunting goals. Find the drive, no excuses Ė just results.

After this mornings weigh-in with Rinda Eastman (Guyís wife who is also a professional trainer) hereís my current baseline:

Iíll admit, her process is new to me but I am going to break down some of the key areas I am going to focus on during the challenge.

As would be guessed, weight is the first thing though surprisingly not the most important. During this challenge I am going to try and cut as much weight as possible and I have a feeling that will be a byproduct of working out and diet change but my starting goal is to drop 33 pounds, taking me to 270 pounds.

Second is body fat percentage. This is the percent of your total make-up thatís fat. For my age range, the upper end of the healthy range is 20%. I donít want to set unrealistic goals so thatís where I am going to set my goal; drop my percent body fat by at least 18.4%.

Third is body water percent, which is the water content of your body. I am sitting at 45.7% and the healthy range for men is 50-65%. My goal here is to hydrate more often and get to 50% or more (thereís a word you donít read often in a fitness challenge).

Fourth is visceral fat. This is the fat that exists in your abdomen, surrounds your internal organs and is the most detrimental to your health. High-blood pressure, heart disease and diabetes are some of the diseases that have been linked to excess amounts of visceral fat. The healthy range for this type of fat is 1-12 and excess levels are considered 13-59, I am at 19. My goal here is to drop my visceral fat rating 7 points to at least 12.

Now for the current workout plan and diet challenge. Itís nothing crazy but will serve you well in the long run.

You may have to search for these exercises on the Internet for proper form and execution Ė I know I did. YouTube is a good place to start.

Diet Challenge:

Donít eat any foods with processed sugar or high-fructose corn syrup.

Sorry but Easter may lose its luster this year.

With that said, I will post as frequently as I can between getting the magazines out to you guys and other obligations. Now, letís get to work!

This really resonates with me. I'm 31, former all American div II college swimmer, competition weight right around 168-172 lbs and 6'1" (body fat ~ 6-8%). Stopped competing 8 yrs ago and basically have added 10-12lbs/yr since going to medical school/residency. Lots of sitting around and free food everywhere. Two kids and working 80+ hour weeks while being so out of shape has kept me from making any headway. This winter I have climbed to 260lbs after plateauing around 238 for almost a year. It was sobering just the other day when my wife had to go buy me new pants for a conference I'm at right now. She had to go back TWICE to exchange them for a bigger size. That was sobering, WOW.

I just started putting in for points out west this year and am trying to use that as motivation to get back in shape. Right now I'd be a waste of a tag. A decade ago it was noting for me to go for a 10-12mi run after swimming 7-8 miles that day. Now, I couldn't run a half mile let alone get up a mountain.

I'm glad I'm not the only one in this boat and hopefully we can motivate each other to get back into shape. I'm going to start out with some upper body free weight routines, lunges, dumbbell squats all with the goal of getting back in the pool to hopefully start putting miles in there to burn the fat off. Water leg workouts are a great way to work all the muscle groups from hip to foot without killing your joints.

This really resonates with me. I'm 31, former all American div II college swimmer, competition weight right around 168-172 lbs and 6'1" (body fat ~ 6-8%). Stopped competing 8 yrs ago and basically have added 10-12lbs/yr since going to medical school/residency. Lots of sitting around and free food everywhere. Two kids and working 80+ hour weeks while being so out of shape has kept me from making any headway. This winter I have climbed to 260lbs after plateauing around 238 for almost a year. It was sobering just the other day when my wife had to go buy me new pants for a conference I'm at right now. She had to go back TWICE to exchange them for a bigger size. That was sobering, WOW.

I just started putting in for points out west this year and am trying to use that as motivation to get back in shape. Right now I'd be a waste of a tag. A decade ago it was noting for me to go for a 10-12mi run after swimming 7-8 miles that day. Now, I couldn't run a half mile let alone get up a mountain.

I'm glad I'm not the only one in this boat and hopefully we can motivate each other to get back into shape. I'm going to start out with some upper body free weight routines, lunges, dumbbell squats all with the goal of getting back in the pool to hopefully start putting miles in there to burn the fat off. Water leg workouts are a great way to work all the muscle groups from hip to foot without killing your joints.

Welcome to the challenge John! I feel your pain. I used to wear waist size 36 pants and now I am at a 42. It's amazing how things catch up to you if you let them. I was the same way thinking, "Aw, I don't look or feel that bad." and 10 years down the road, I struggle to get through the workout routine from Rinda in my post. I am very surprised that I could pack my buddies cow elk off the mountain this past January with no ill effect. My pack weighed 105 pounds and the hike was close to two miles but it was steep down hill most of the way. That has it's own challenge but I think if there were an incline in there somewhere, I would have had to make two trips for sure.

Hunting is always a great motivator. When I get to the bottom of a third set, I start thinking about my favorite backcountry basin back home in Montana and how if I don't get this training done, I might never see it again – that's a thought I can't handle.

Well I have to say I was not looking forward to last nights workout, I was not just sore from the previous workout but uncomfortably so. This morning, I am barely sore and I can feel my muscle groups tightening back up – feels great! I am headed back home to Montana this weekend for my sons first birthday and to visit family for Easter but believe me, I will still be doing the workout and not eating above my 2,000 calorie limit (that's going to be tough with all the chocolate bunnies bouncing around). I have a couple hikes in mind IF I can get down the trail with 5' of snow still on the ground. I will be sure to take pictures and post them up for you guys next Tuesday.

Motivational quote for the weekend and I don't know who to credit: "If it's important to you, you'll find a way. If not, you'll find an excuse."

Good luck with the challenge!! I am very interested in how Rinda broke down your weight like she did? I understand body fat etc but how did she come up with bone mass, hydtration etc?? I am an analystic kinda OCD person so that info would be interesting to find out!!